Aston Villa manager Unai Emery have given his views on the Manchester City scandal, speaking candidly on football’s biggest story.
Manchester City were found guilty of their 115 charges last week, after initial reports that they had been found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges put against them.
The Premier League have since released their commission’s findings. They have accused to Manchester City of ‘sham’ arrangements that inflated their financial growth by over £900m.
Manchester City lodged their appeal on Friday. Executives at the club, including CEO Ferran Soriano, continue to insist that they are innocent. They claim to have irrefutable evidence to prove their innocence.
Manchester City sanctions
The rest of the football world, meanwhile, awaits potential sanctions. The precedent set by the punishments handed to Everton and Nottingham Forest have set the stage for a potentially cataclysmic punishment for Manchester City.
There have been few voices – outside of the Etihad family at least – that have moved to defend Manchester City for their alleged crimes. But now Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has done that, somewhat, suggesting other clubs are guilty of ‘financial doping’.
“It is an issue that was already known,” Mundo Deportivo report him saying.
“We all have our restrictions; we have to sell players to comply with Financial Fair Play, and we have to figure out how to structure contracts for new signings.
“Fair Play seeks financial balance so that spending aligns with revenue and inflation is avoided. Yes, many other clubs have inflated their budgets, and now it’s coming to light, and naturally, there is a decline.”
| Manchester City — men’s first-team trophies since 2009 | Wins | Winning years / seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Premier League | 8 | 2011/12, 2013/14, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 |
| FA Cup | 4 | 2010/11, 2018/19, 2022/23, 2025/26 |
| League Cup | 7 | 2013/14, 2015/16, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2025/26 |
| Community Shield | 4 | 2012, 2018, 2019, 2024 |
| UEFA Champions League | 1 | 2022/23 |
| UEFA Super Cup | 1 | 2023 |
| FIFA Club World Cup | 1 | 2023 |
| Total | 26 |
Tainted football?
The Aston Villa boss is also feeling a little contemplative about the situation as a whole.
He, it seems, would be against tainting what happened on the pitch with the crimes off of it.
“That is something for the courts and the authorities to decide,” he added regarding sanctions.
“I feel bad about it, given how that team played. Under Guardiola, there were times when they were unbeatable.”
